We reach the halfway point in this forth volume of Gad Guard.  This series started out strong with an interesting mystery and some engaging characters.  Somewhere along the line it lost its way though.  The main story was ignored in favor of a series of stand alone episodes that really didn't advance the plot much.  This time around we start off with some more single episode stories and then starts what will hopefully be the next major story line.

The volume starts off with Katana being hunted by an assassin.  This professional killer has the rather creepy ability to merge human beings with machines, while they are still alive.  He's only after Katana, but when he sees Hajiki talking with him, he decides that they both should die.  The two kids are totally out of their league without their Gads, but being chased through the sewer system of Night Town they don't have the opportunity to get them.

The next episode focuses on Catherine.  She had a Techode at one time, and lost it and has been spending the years since trying to get it back.  When she hears of some mysterious fires taking place at the docks, she wrangles Hajiki into investigating with her.  The discover an odd old man, and a huge fire.  Hajiki gets injured saving Catherine, but she doesn't seem to care that he's hurt.  She thinks she's near a Gad and won't let anyone get in her way, whether they be friends or enemies.

Aiko Harmony gets an episode of her own too.  Her father, a very rich industrialist, is collecting Gads.  They are very rare and the more he has the more statue they bring him.  He has quite a collection, obtained with the aide of an unscrupulous lawyer, and when one that he covets is stolen from a museum Aiko thinks that her father might be behind the robbery.  After all, he seems to hold more affection for those strange metal cubes than he does for his daughter.  When Aiko is kidnaped and the ransom is revealed to be all of Mr. Harmony's Gads, the rich girl is sure that her father will never part with his precious artifacts.

In the final episode things start getting a little interesting again. Aiko invites everyone over for dinner and after they have eaten, Mr. Harmony tells them about his Gad collection.  He also has an interesting proposition: He wants to keep everyone's techodes for their safety.  After all, a gang war is about to erupt in Night Town, and the techodes might get destroyed by Katana.  Takumi hates the idea, and doesn't trust Harmony at all.  In fact he doesn't think that Harmony should have control of so many Gads and takes steps to see that his collection is dispersed, with horrible results.

I was generally disappointed in the stand alone episodes.  Though they were better than the ones in volume 3, they didn't add much to the story.  The episode about Catherine didn't flesh out her character or fill in any details about her past.  They showed that she really, really wants a Gad, but we knew that already.  She talks about the fact that she used to have a techode and lost it, but again that's not a new revelation.  I was hoping that they would talk about the way she lost her Gad and the circumstances surrounding it's departure, but they didn't.  It was like they were waving a big flag saying "There's a mystery here!   Remember?"  But not giving us any more clues.  Very disappointing.

The series started to become more interesting with the last two episodes.  They are playing Aiko's dad very well, you really aren't sure if his motives are pure or not.  He gives good excuses for what he does, but you're not sure if they are sincere or not.  His collection of Gad is impressive, and they represent a lot of power.

The last episode on the disc also ended in a good cliff-hanger, which has me looking forward to the next volume.  Hopefully the story line involving the gang war and Mr. Harmony's Gads won't just disappear.

Audio:

Stereo soundtracks were available in both the original Japanese and an English dub. I prefer to view the shows in their original language, so I had a preference for the Japanese track, but I viewed shows with the dub too. The dub was actually very good. The voices fit the characters, and they didn't have any stupid accents or people using high-pitched voices for the children. The sound quality was also fine, with good use made of the front soundstage.

Video:

The video quality was very good. This full frame transfer looked great, with the dark tans and grays of Night Town having a full range of hues, and the colors of Gold Town being bright and vivid. There were only the most minor instances of aliasing present. This DVD has a great image.

Extras:

Like the previous disc, the only extra included on this disc is an art gallery of stills.  There are also previews for other Geneon DVDs.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this volume a lot more than the last, though it still leaves a bit to be desired.  The first three shows were stand alone episodes that really didn't advance the plot much, or reveal anything significant about the characters.  The fourth show, which ties into the third, was much better.  It looks like the next big story arc has started, and I'm interested to see if I'm right.  Recommended.